The creation and distribution of publications for others may take any of several forms. A common form is represented by magazines for general public circulation, in which a publication is created for sale to the general public without any direct interaction relating to the content of the publication between the publisher and any other party. Other types of publications may be created especially for a customer such as a business entity, in order for the business entity to mail, distribute or otherwise deliver (for example, by electronic means) the publication it has specially ordered or commissioned to its own customers and potential customers. Examples of such publications include, but are not limited to, magazines relating to health care that are mailed to persons living in a community served by a particular health care provider such as a hospital. Such magazines are published by publishers on behalf of the health care provider and will usually include the name of the health care provider on the cover. The magazines may also include certain news items about the health care provider, but most commonly, such magazines consist primarily of generic articles relating to various health care topics which are not specific to the health care provider or its specialties, and which are not particularly targeted to the intended readers. Such magazines, like those intended for general circulation, are usually created without any direct interaction relating to the content of the publication between the publisher and any other party. Consequently, the publisher of such a magazine can sell essentially the same magazine, excepting the cover and perhaps an article or two, to different health care providers located in different parts of the country. If the publication includes an article that is specific to or customized for the health care provider named on the cover, such article is most likely provided by the health care provider, because the publisher is typically not located in the health care provider's community and generally knows little of its specialties or of the interests of the residents of that community. Consequently, it is common for a publisher to publish one magazine for a health care provider in one community that is intended to be mailed to the residents of that community, and publish essentially the same magazine for another health care provider in another community. The disadvantage of such partially-customized or syndicated publications, from the point of view of the health care provider or other customer that commissions the publication, is that the bulk of the publication is not customized or specifically tailored to the specialties of the sponsoring entity, or to the regional interests of the residents of the community which that entity serves.
Fully-customized publications have not previously been offered because the time and work required to create a new publication that is specifically tailored to a particular customer has been thought to be greater than is practical, and because the cost of creating such a publication has been thought to be considerably more than the cost of a syndicated publication. In addition, most health care providers and other business entities that seek such publications do not have the personnel, the expertise or the desire to create their own articles for the publication. It would be desirable, therefore, if a method could be developed for creating a fully customized publication in a reasonable period of time and at reasonable cost. It would also be desirable if such method could be developed that would not require the commissioning customer to create its own customized article for the publication.